COVID-19 has sparked a number of debates surrounding the use of intelligent software to help with diagnosis, facilitate contract tracing in real-time, develop prediction models to inform hospital demand, and assist with patient prioritization. Is there a way we can harness advances in technology to more efficiently monitor public health, develop treatment plans, and identify vulnerable patients, without compromising privacy and public trust?
On February 26, 2020, CIFAR and the British Columbia Ministry of Health, with expertise from the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship, brought together policymakers, academics, health practitioners, and patient advocates in Victoria, British Columbia to discuss the application of AI to the provincial healthcare system. While our discussions did not focus on COVID-19, the insights generated provide a starting point from which to assess the use of any AI-driven health application.
Inspired by the AI Futures Policy Lab series developed by CIFAR and BII+E, this lab incorporated a mixture of case-study based facilitated discussions, group activities, and invited talks. Five case studies, based on real-life AI applications, were developed to help ground participant discussions and activities throughout the day.
The lab was designed with the aim to:
- Develop a clearer understanding of current capabilities of AI;
- Raise awareness of how AI is being used in the health sector, based on real-world applications;
- Discuss benefits as well as social, ethical, economic, and political challenges associated with AI-driven health applications; and
- Identify immediate next steps for policymakers to support effective deployment and adoption of AI in the health sector within the next 5 years.
The Future of AI + Health: A Policy Lab
COVID-19 has sparked a number of debates surrounding the use of intelligent software to help with diagnosis, facilitate contract tracing in real-time, develop prediction models to inform hospital demand, and assist with patient prioritization. Is there a way we can harness advances in technology to more efficiently monitor public health, develop treatment plans, and identify vulnerable patients, without compromising privacy and public trust?
On February 26, 2020, CIFAR and the British Columbia Ministry of Health, with expertise from the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship, brought together policymakers, academics, health practitioners, and patient advocates in Victoria, British Columbia to discuss the application of AI to the provincial healthcare system. While our discussions did not focus on COVID-19, the insights generated provide a starting point from which to assess the use of any AI-driven health application.
Inspired by the AI Futures Policy Lab series developed by CIFAR and BII+E, this lab incorporated a mixture of case-study based facilitated discussions, group activities, and invited talks. Five case studies, based on real-life AI applications, were developed to help ground participant discussions and activities throughout the day.
The lab was designed with the aim to:
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Level Setting Presentations
The lab included several presentations which provided a variety of perspectives on how to think about the use of AI in healthcare:
Group Discussions and Activities
The lab was structured to enable participants to engage with real-life case studies of AI-driven health and develop the capacity to think critically about the benefits and challenges they pose. Participants were split into groups of 4-5 people, where they were given one of five case studies. These case studies represented a range of themes across the healthcare system, including public health, public-private partnerships, mental health, health care administration, and radiology treatment. Case studies included:
A facilitator guided participants through a series of activities, focused on analyzing the social, ethical, economic, and political dimensions of their AI-driven health applications. These activities prompted participants to contemplate questions such as: What individuals or groups does this application impact? Is this impact positive or negative? What assumptions guided the design of this application? What is the larger economic implication of this application? What impact may this application have on policy?
Key Themes
Several overlapping themes emerged from participant recommendations:
Read the report for a more in-depth summary of participant recommendations, details about the day’s activities, and case study descriptions
English Version version française
For media enquiries, please contact Nina Rafeek, Marketing + Communications Specialist at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship.
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